This Is Poland (1940s)

This is Poland, the country with a thousand years old tradition. And these buildings and monuments in which that tradition is crystallized are in Warsaw, capital of Poland during the last 300 years, and center of resistance against foreign invasions for centuries before that. We are reminded of the way in which the Polish people have always resisted aggression by a statue of John Sobieski, the king, who in 1683 saved German Vienna from Turkish invaders. And here in Krakow is a statue of Kosciuszko, another Polish leader who fought against oppression. Krakow unites in one city the Westminster, Windsor, and Oxford of Poland. It was a seat of government for five centuries. Its university is the oldest in Central Europe. And the Royal Castle and Cathedral of Wawel form one of the finest monuments of medieval architecture still in existence. Here, in the 13th century, the Mongol invasion of Europe was broken. This trumpeter of Krakow, 700 years ago, sounded the alarm to rouse the citizens. An arrow shot by a Tatar archer pierced the throat of the trumpeter, and that is why the note breaks without completing the tune. In commemoration of this occasion, the people of Krakow to this very day celebrate it with a mock Mongol on a hobby horse. But, it is the Polish peasant who is the backbone of the country. Here in the Highlands, in the Tatra Mountains, the peasants have retained most of their picturesque, traditional customs. Hey, hey, hey. The Polish people are pious and deeply religious. Once again, This ancient, but for a century neglected country, sprang to a new life in 1918. And its people, spurred on by their newly won liberty, determined that Poland should take her rightful place among the most progressive nations of Europe. They built their great seaport of Gdynia, which was transformed in a few years from a poor fishing village into the most flourishing harbor in the Baltic. After so many wars and so much suffering, Poland needed peace. She did everything to secure it. She concluded non-aggression pacts with both her neighbors, and hoped that this eternal fire, burning over the tomb of her unknown warrior, would be a symbol of a phase in her life which had passed forever. This was not to be. In September 1939, in the balance of his treaty, Adolf Hitler's army made a sudden and unprovoked attack. Bombers rained death from the sky. His warship shelled the coast where the defenders of Westerplatte, cut off by land and bombarded by sea, held out for 3 weeks and surrendered only when all of them were either killed or injured. Mechanized troops advanced across the frontier from the south, west, and north. They met by desperate resistance of the only partially mobilized army. After a few weeks of fighting, the whole country was overrun and devastated. But one city, Warsaw, still held out. German Führer himself came to see the cause of his army's setback. Ceaselessly bombed from the air, ceaselessly shelled, her monuments and buildings destroyed, Warsaw continued her resistance for another fortnight. Although fires were raging in the city, there was no water, no light. Food supplies had long ago run out. But at length it was obvious even to the stubborn and courageous defenders of Warsaw that further resistance was hopeless, and the Lord Mayor Starzyński sent his emissary to arrange the terms of surrender with General von der Brauchitsch. And so the Germans finally entered Warsaw. But Poland will never perish. Poland will live forever, great and glorious for you, for us, and for the whole of humanity. Thus spoke the great veteran Paderewski. When the Polish patriots in France made their decision to continue the struggle. The Polish navy had already fought its way out of the Baltic and crossing the North Sea reached the shores of Britain, where the white eagle went into action alongside the white ensign. The epic story of the submarine Orzel has become an imperishable part of the history of this war. And here training in British machines is the Polish Air Force that was later to play its brilliant part in the defense of Britain. While the land forces, all seasoned veterans of the campaigns in Poland, Norway, and France had rallied on British soil and were reforming their ranks for the time when a great crusade will set out from the shores of Britain to reconquer freedom for Europe. Here, General Sikorski, the Polish commander-in-chief comes to decorate those of the troops who had distinguished themselves in the Norwegian campaign. But the future of Poland is here in her children. Who, although exiled, go on learning to be useful citizens of their motherland. While these children live, Poland will never die.